1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to, and more particularly to a solar lighting apparatus, and more particularly to a solar light apparatus which includes a wiring arrangement and a power control mechanism such that the solar light apparatus can provide an adjustable solar panel having a size independent to and unrestricted by the size of the light apparatus and therefore can provide higher power which is suitable for different uses such as a street lamp, a pathway light, an entrance light, an outdoor lamp while at the same has a control mechanism to effectively utilize the solar energy to fit the day-night cycle of a day and to prepare for providing illumination during non-sunny days.
2. Description of Related Arts
Energy crisis is an important issue for today's world and has led to recent development in relation to green energy and energy conservation method, both in industrial and household level. In particular, active exploitation of solar energy is one of the important developments which include expanding the possibility of utilization in different areas and developing more effective way of utilization. In the past, the cost of making solar energy available for use was at a very high level and the effectiveness of utilization is not satisfactory. Therefore, it is not cost-effective to explode the use of solar energy for household products which require a low energy requirement, even though the accumulated sum of energy requirement is substantively high.
Recently, utilization of solar energy at household level has been developed and becomes more acceptable to the public when the cost of utilization is lowered and the effective of utilization is improved, due to the lower cost of equipment and/or subsidies provided by local governments or authorities. For example, installation of solar panel on a roof of a house for providing electricity to the house is one of the important developments of utilization of solar energy. However, the installation and equipment cost is still very high.
Lighting apparatus is widely used in different areas, such as indoor building structures which include industrial buildings, office buildings or household buildings, and outdoor lighting tools which include lamp poles in the streets, pathway light and entry light for a building structure. If it is possible to replace all these lighting apparatus into solar lighting apparatus, the utilization of solar energy will be greatly increased and therefore the effect of energy conservation is substantively high.
One of the recent developments in relation to utilization of solar energy is seen in garden pathway light apparatus. In general, the pathway light apparatus has a very low power requirement and includes a solar panel affixed on its top surface to obtain solar energy as its power source. Accordingly, the pathway light apparatus can obtain and store solar energy during the daytime and utilize the solar energy to provide illumination during the nighttime. However, this early development and exploitation of solar energy is not effective and has the following drawback. First, this is only suitable for low power pathway light apparatus because the solar panel positioned at the top surface is limited by the size of the light apparatus and the power of the light apparatus is limited by the size of the solar panel. In other words, this utilization is limited to low powered pathway light apparatus. In general, the pathway light apparatus may not be able to provide illumination for the whole night. Second, the position of the solar panel is fixed relative to the light apparatus and therefore the solar panel fails to adapt to any changes of solar light direction. In other words, when the light apparatus is positioned at different locations which face different cardinal points, the ability to obtain solar energy will be varied. Third, the brightness of illumination is not adjustable and no mechanism is provided in relation to brightness adjustment to fit the day-night cycle of a day. For example, the relative importance of providing pathway during midnight, such as 2:00 pm or 3:00 pm, is much lower when comparing to early night-time. Also, the illumination effect for midnight period is more prominent than the early night-time period. There lacks any mechanism of control to effectively adapt the power consumption cycle of the pathway light in consistent to the requirement in the day-night cycle. Fourth, the power consumption of the light apparatus fails to equip with non-sunny days, such as rainy days or cloudy days. Since there is no light adjustable or control mechanism, the light apparatus is not prepared to face any non-sunny days and simply does not work during rainy or cloudy days. Fifth, the problem of insufficient charging during a particular cycle has greatly lowered the efficiency and the lifespan of the lighting apparatus. Since weather is unpredictable and the light apparatus has only one rigid cycle involving on/off status, insufficient charging is common and the lifespan of the lighting apparatus is shorter than expected. In other words, the light apparatus fails to adapt to the weather which involves abnormal operation of the light apparatus and therefore the lifespan is short and hence the efficiency is low.
The conventional garden pathway light apparatus also has other undesirable constraints in relation to its structural. In particular, the light apparatus may provide a tapered end so that the light apparatus can be more easily inserted into the soil or sand of a ground surface. However, when a level of hardness of the ground surface is very high, it is not possible to position the light apparatus onto the ground surface. When the only available ground surface is concrete, the light apparatus lacks any structural elements for support and therefore cannot be positioned on top of a concrete surface. In other words, the light apparatus is only suitable for use in relatively soft ground surface. In addition, because of the lack of supporting mechanism, the light apparatus is limited in utilization, which is garden pathway light for use in a garden with soil or sand ground surface.
The conventional garden pathway light apparatus is limited in shape and design because of the position requirement of the solar panel. In other words, a top surface or at least an inclined upper surface has to be included for positioning the solar panel for light absorption. Accordingly, the shape and design of the light apparatus is restricted.